Improvement in sewing-machines



- 2 Sheets-Sheet' 1. E. H. SIVHTH.

Sewing Machine.

Patented March. '20 1866..

`2 sheetwsheet 2-12 E. H'. SMITH.

. Sewing Machine.

Patented March. 20, A'1866.'

TUNrrn 'rares Pn'rnivr rtree.

EARLE HARRY SMITH, OF SHERVVOOD, NEW JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEWING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 53,353, dated March 20,1866; antedated September 20, 1865.

To all whom fit may concern: g

Be it known that 1, EARLE HARRY SMITH, of Sherwood, in the county ofHudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Sewing-Machines; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of thisspeciication, in which the marks of reference correspond in all theIigures.

My said improvements form a simple and durable machine in which theneedle and shuttle are driven by cranks direct, and hence capable ofvery rapid and quiet operation.'

My invention comprises a system ot' movements thoroughly uniform,excepting in so far as the inherent alternating requirements ofthesewing-instruments necessitate a variation in the motion of the shuttle.

My invention also embodies a certain arrangement and combination ofparts, whereby the reciprocations of the driving mechanism of the needleand shuttle counterbalance each other and neutralize the tendency tovibration; also certain specific forms, construction, and arrangementcalculated to simplify the process of manufacture of the machine andreduce the cost.

To enable others to make and use my invention, I will proceed todescribe the construction and operation of the same.

In the drawings annexed, Figure l is a side elevation. Fig. 2 shows theshuttle-race detached. Fig.3 shows the shuttle-race and part of thedriving mechanism in section. Fig. 4L shows the pressure-foot set in theend of the fixed arm. Fig. 5 shows the shuttle and tension-bar. Fig. 6shows the drawing of the thread from the bobbin. Fig. 7 is a section ofthe shuttle.

A is the bed and frame of the machine. B is the shuttle-race, and is setin the bed and secured therein. Said race has a hanger, B', easttherewith, having a hub or boss, B2. The boss and the end of the hangerreceive, respectively, the shaft G and fulcrum-pin D. Thel latter isrmly fixed by a nut, D.

F is the feed-bar, and is also secured to the hanger by a screw, G,passing through a slot in said bar. The upper end has points to takehold of the cloth, and the bar receives an npand-down and back-aud-fortumotion from au eccentric acting on-the lower end thereof.

On the shaft U is fixed the (.lri\fingpulle,v H, having cast upon oneside thereof a small eccentric, I, which gives the vertical motion tothe feed-bar; and the perimeter of the eccentric has a sort of cam shapeto give the lateral motion. The bar, therefore, moves up and down andoscillates on the screw Gr. On the other side of the pulley, also castin one piece therewith, is a larger eccentric, K, for operating theneedle-arm L, which it does through the agency of the strap J. Upon theface of the eccentric K is a plate or disk, M, carrying a Wrist or crankpin, N, which runs in a groove or slot in a lever, O. This lever is setand oscillates on the fulcrum-pin D, and the upper end of said lever isconnected with the shuttle-driver Q by means ot' a link or any suitabledevice. The plate M is attached to the eccentric K by screws, which passthrough slots in said plate, so as to admit of the adjustment of thecrank-pin N relatively with the eccentric K, for the purpose of' timingthe needle and shuttle.

S is the shuttle carrier or cradle, and is attached to the driver Q inthe usual manner.

By the arrangement of the parts shown in Fig. 3 all the primaryactuating devices for all the motions of the machine are brought into acompact group, and they, with the other operating or moving devices,except the needlearm, are attached to one and the same piece of castingthereby insuring beyond the possi-- bility of change the permanence ot'the relative position of all those parts ofthe working machinery thatrequire to be ixed and unalterable. This construction and arrangement'of the principal parts of the machine also simplities the process ofmanufacture and reduces the cost.

The eccentric K and wrist or crank pin N are so placed relatively thatthe direction of the motion of the lever O is always the reverse of thatof the eccentric-strap J, and this feature has the effect ofneutralizing more or less those vibrations of the machine necessarilyattendant on a high speed of reciprocating motions. The result is themachine does not so readily become deranged and the wear is materiallydiminished.

T is the pressure-foot to hold the work down in process of sewing. It isimportant to prevent any lateral motion of this foot. To ldo this Iprovide a wide bearing and guide by slitting' the lixed arm, Fig. 4,rightthrou gh and extending the foot up into the slit, as shown in thedrawings. This makes a good bearing and permanent, and is important inany sewingmachine, as it removes the potent cause of breakage of needlesand preserves the proper action of a hemmer or gage.

The continuous motion of the needle makes it preferable to present around surface instead ofa sharp corner at the bottom of the needle sideof the shuttle; and I therefore make the shuttle cylindrical in form,except ing on the side next the shuttle-race and at the upper insidecorner, which is left intact to afford sufficient space for theinsertion and removal of the bobbin at the side, Figs. 5, 6, 7.

To cause the thread to draw off at right angles, or nearly so, with theaxis of the bobbin, Iprovideacurved thread-guide,1, and in order thatthis guide and the thread which is guided over it shall occupy as littlespace as possible within the shuttle, Iferm a slit, 2, in the lower sideof the shuttle, into which the curved part of this guide may project. Asa means of producing and varying the tension, I apply to the shuttle atension-bar which is pivoted at one end inside of the shuttle, so thatit may be turned out to adjust the tension, at other times remaining inthe shuttle. Said tension-bar is shown with two holes, one about themid-length of the bobbin and one about the mid-length of the shuttle.Between these holes the thread is wound around the oar more or less,according to the degree of tension required. (See Fig. 6.) In thismachine the motion of the needle, as derived from an eccentric, C', is,so far as a crank or eccentric can make it, uniform throughout both theascending and descending stroke, as well as the upper and lowerterminations thereof, corresponding as nearly as possible, and themotion of the shuttle, as effected by the wrist or crank piu and slottedlever, corresponds at opposite ends of the stroke; but when thecrank-pin is passing through the lower half of its circuit the movementof the lever is faster than at other times, and the position of theshuttle is such with respect to the motions of the crank-pin and leverthat the forward movement of the shuttle takes place when the crank-pinis passing nearestforward or advance movement. This combination of aneccentric to move the needle and a crank and lever to move the shuttle,While producing motions almost completely uniform, differs from othercrank-motion machines in that the inherent alternating action of theneedle and shuttle is provided for, while the dwell or retardation ofthe motion ofthe needle is avoided, yet the sewing is accomplished bythe needle and shuttle simply, rendering unnecessary the use of allrotative, vibrating, or similar extraneous co-operating devices.

Operation Motion being given to the driving-pulley,the needle descends,and then-,rising, the shuttle advances aud takes the loop, passingthrough before the needles eye, rising, reaches the cloth. After passingthrough the loop of needle-thread the shuttle begins to return,slackenin g up its thread before the needle ceases to rise. When theupward stroke of the needle is completed there is a part of theshuttle-thread drawn up through the cloth. Afterward the shuttle drawsthis thread down to and then into the cloth.

In the above description I have endeavored to be confined vto what isconsidered new. Such matters, therefore, as the tension of theneedlethread and the take-up which controls the thread between theneedles eye and the cloth are omitted, inasmuch as those common to othershuttle-machines may be employed.

WhatIclaim as myinvention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The employment of an eccentric or its equivalent to actuate theneedle with the uniform motion ordinarily due to a crank or eccentric,in combination with a revolving wrist and oscillating lever operatingtogether and actuating the shuttle, the arrangement of the shuttle withrespect to the motions of said wrist and lever being substantially asspecitied.

eccentric and strap, wrist, and lever, as specitied, whereby such partsand the motions thereof act as a counter-balance to each other, for thepurposes and substantially as described.

3. Constructing the shuttle race with a hanger cast therewith providedwith aboss receiving and forming the bearing for the driving-shaft, andsupporting the feed bar and` shuttle-driving lever, substantially asspecilied.

EARLE H. SMITH.

Witnesses SYLVENUs WALKER, JOEL GREEN.

2. The arrangement and combination of the

